The World Wide Web is thirty years old - what will happen to it next?

Original author: Tim Berners-Lee
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On the 30th birthday of the WWW, founder of the World Wide Web Foundation [international non-profit organization dedicated to the development and accessibility of the World Wide Web / approx. trans.] Tim Berners-Lee recalls how the web has changed our world and discusses what we should do to create a better web that can benefit all of humanity.

Today, March 12, 2019, 30 years after my first proposal to create an information management system, half of the world's population sits online. It is time to celebrate how far we have come and to realize how much more remains to be done.

The web has turned into a city square, a library, a doctor’s office, a shop, a school, a design studio, an office, a cinema, a bank and much, much more. Of course, with the advent of each new feature and new site, the gap between people online and people staying offline widens, making the need to make the web accessible to everyone becomes even more urgent.

And although the web has created many opportunities, given the right to vote to isolated groups, made our everyday lives easier, it also created opportunities for scammers, made it possible for people who spread hatred to speak out and facilitated the commission of various crimes.

Amid news of the misuse of the web, it is clear why many people are afraid of the web and are not sure whether it carries the good. But given how much the web has changed over the past 30 years, you should not give up and assume, without using any imagination, that the web cannot be changed for the better in the next 30 years. If we give up and don’t create an improved web today, then this is not the web that will let us down, we will let it down.

To solve any problem, you must first clearly identify and understand it. Three sources of today's web issues are striking to me:

  1. Deliberate malicious acts, such as state sponsored attacks and hacks, illegal behavior and online harassment of people.
  2. The principle of the functioning of systems that creates perverse incentives that ignore the user's value - for example, advertising-based profitability models that encourage clickbait and the viral spread of misinformation.
  3. Inadvertent negative consequences of good intentions, for example, angry disputes, intransigence of opinions, quality of online discussions.

And although it is impossible to completely get rid of the first category, we can create laws and rules of behavior that minimize such behavior, as was done offline. The second category requires redesigning systems to change incentives. The third category requires research to understand existing systems and model new ones, or fine-tune existing ones.

You cannot blame any one government, one social network or the human spirit. We run the risk of wasting energy on unnecessary simplifications by chasing the symptoms of problems, rather than focusing on their causes. To do everything right, we need to get together and become a global web community.

At key points in the history of history, the generations that lived before were working together to create a better future.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has allowed various people to agree to fundamental principles. International maritime law and the Outer Space Treaty have made it possible to maintain new frontiers for the common good. And now, when the web is changing the whole world, we are responsible for ensuring that access to the web is considered a human right and created for the common good. Therefore, the Web Foundation is working with governments, companies, and citizens to create the new World Wide Web Contract .

The contract was launched in Lisbon at the World Wide Web Summit, which brought together people who agreed on the need to establish clear guidelines, laws and standards for the web. Those who support this project endorse its initial principles and work together to share responsibilities. No group should work on this together, and any input would be greatly appreciated. Governments, companies and citizens are contributing, and we are committed to achieving results this year.

Governments need to adapt laws and regulations to the digital age. They must ensure that markets remain competitive, innovative and open. They have a responsibility to people to protect their rights and freedoms online. We need supporters of the open web in governments — civil servants and elected representatives who will act when private sector interests threaten the common good and defend the open web.

Companies need to do more so that in the pursuit of quick profits they do not forget about human rights, democracy, scientific facts or public safety. Platforms and products need to be developed with privacy, diversity and security in mind. This year we saw how several employees of technology companies demanded that they improve their business practices. This kind of activity needs to be encouraged.

And, most importantly, citizens must demand that companies and governments fulfill their promises, and demand that they respect the web as a global community centered on people. If we do not elect politicians who advocate a free and open web, if we do not encourage constructive, healthy discussions online, if we continue to agree with everything without requiring the protection of our data, we give up our responsibility to make these problems are priority for our governments.

The battle for the web is one of the most important goals of our time. Today, half the world is online. More than ever, it is important to ensure that the other half does not lag behind the first, and that everyone will contribute to the web, promoting equality, opportunities and creativity.

The World Wide Web Contract should not be a short list of edits, but a process that marks a shift in understanding of our relationship with the online community. It should be clear enough to serve as a guiding light, but flexible enough to adapt to rapid technological changes. This is our journey from digital youth to a more mature, responsible and inclusive future.

The web is for everyone, and together we have the ability to change it. It will not be easy. But if you dream a little and work hard, we can get the web we want.

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